Odegaard and Saka star – player ratings for Arsenal v Chelsea

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Odegaard and Saka star – player ratings for Arsenal v Chelsea

Martin Odegaard celebrates his goal with Arsenal's fansImage source, Getty Images
By

Football reporter at the Emirates Stadium
  • Published

Captain Martin Odegaard scored the winner as Arsenal secured an impressive 2-1 home victory over Chelsea.

Club-record £117m signing Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead after just two minutes, but Kai Havertz equalised against his former club before Odegaard struck early in the second half to seal the win.

Here’s how I rated the players and you can see how you scored them below.

Arsenal ratings

David Raya: The Arsenal goalkeeper was beaten by the quality of Rogers’ finish but dealt comfortably with the other efforts he faced and produced one stunning save late on from Estevao. 6

Ben White: A tidy display in possession, although he made little impact at either end of the pitch. 6

Gabriel Magalhaes: Outshone by Konsa at times but still produced an effective performance. 7

Ezri Konsa: On his first Arsenal start, he won more duels than any other defender and was joint-top for possession won in the first half. 7

Riccardo Calafiori: His underlapping runs were typically adventurous and the Italy defender played a key role in creating problems from set-pieces. 7

Myles Lewis-Skelly: Fired a poor effort wide from the edge of the area late in the first half and was caught in possession in a dangerous area, but competed well in midfield. 6

Declan Rice: Played his part in a fiercely contested midfield battle and contributed well both in and out of possession. 6

Martin Odegaard: Put Arsenal ahead early in the second half with a composed finish. Also impressed with the quality of his delivery, both in open play and from set-pieces. 8

Bukayo Saka: A constant threat from set-pieces and regularly won free-kicks in dangerous positions. His impressive second-half effort was saved. 8

Kai Havertz: Passed up a shooting opportunity in the 23rd minute but made no mistake with his next chance, cutting inside to score two minutes later. Also played a part in Odegaard’s goal and proved a threat at set-pieces. 7

Christos Tzolis: Delivered well from the left and provided Arsenal‘s main outlet whenever they broke from periods of Chelsea possession. 7

Subs:

Martin Zubimendi (on 67, Myles-Skelly): A complete substitute performance involving dangerous shots, impressive passing and breaking up the play. 7

Piero Hincapie (on 67, Calafiori): Kept it simple with Arsenal ahead. 6

Mikel Merino (on 77, Odegaard): A tidy addition late on in midfield. 6

Viktor Gyokores (on 78, Havertz): Not much opportunity to make an impact as Arsenal held onto their lead. 5

Noni Madueke (on 90, Saka)

Subs not used: Arrizabalaga, Guimaraes, Dowman

Chelsea ratings

Emiliano Martinez: There was concern when the Argentina goalkeeper was accidentally kicked in the head by Gabriel early on, but he was beaten too easily at his near post for Havertz’s equaliser. He later made a high-quality save from Saka in the second half. 5

Josh Acheampong: Often dragged into uncomfortable areas by Tzolis from a tactical perspective, but handled his individual defensive duties well. 6

Maxence Lacroix: Miscontrolled a ball early on and allowed Havertz’s shot to pass through his legs but also impressed at other times. 6

Wesley Fofana: Unconvincing defensively against Saka, Odegaard and, ultimately, Havertz for the equaliser, but the most composed of Chelsea‘s defenders in possession. 6

Pedro Neto: Tasked with marking Calafiori while also providing an attacking threat. Hit the post just before half-time with a brilliant curling effort. 7

Reece James: Saw a well-struck long-range effort saved after 22 minutes and was arguably Chelsea‘s best passer. 7

Romeo Lavia: Produced a superb defensive header to clear the danger in the 32nd minute and competed aggressively throughout. 6

Jorrel Hato: His determination helped create Rogers’ volley and he matched that effort defensively, although he struggled to contain Saka at times. 6

Cole Palmer: Had one effort on target in the first half and was booked for a professional foul. Also had a second-half shot saved. Arsenal largely kept him quiet. 5

Morgan Rogers: Opened the scoring with a first-time volley after just two minutes. Later curled an effort narrowly wide in the 31st minute and was Chelsea‘s most dangerous attacking player. 7

Joao Pedro: Unconvincing defensively at set-pieces and had few opportunities in front of goal, including an ambitious effort from distance. Still made a significant contribution through his work-rate, physical presence and ability to bring team-mates into play as the number nine. 6

Subs:

Malo Gusto (on 60, Lavia): Poor effort moments after coming on, albeit playing out of position in central midfield. 5

Pep Chavarria (on 60, Hato): Struggled to track his runners on a few occasions. 6

Estevao Willian (on 80, Neto): The Brazilian’s sensational curling effort almost levelled but was saved by Raya.

Danny Welbeck (on 87, Rogers)

Subs not used: Penders, Colwill, Barco, Quenda, Gittens

How did you rate the players?

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Player of the match

Number: 8 M. Ødegaard

Average rating 8.21
Number: 8 M. Ødegaard

Average Rating: 8.21

Number: 1 David Raya

Average Rating: 7.81

Number: 29 K. Havertz

Average Rating: 7.78

Number: 6 Gabriel Magalhães

Average Rating: 7.42

Number: 41 D. Rice

Average Rating: 7.41

Number: 17 C. Tzolis

Average Rating: 7.37

Number: 33 R. Calafiori

Average Rating: 7.34

Number: 15 E. Konsa

Average Rating: 7.27

Number: 7 B. Saka

Average Rating: 7.26

Number: 49 M. Lewis-Skelly

Average Rating: 7.00

Number: 4 B. White

Average Rating: 6.91

Number: 5 P. Hincapié

Average Rating: 6.56

Number: 36 Martín Zubimendi

Average Rating: 6.43

Number: 23 Mikel Merino

Average Rating: 6.28

Number: 14 V. Gyökeres

Average Rating: 6.07

Number: 20 N. Madueke

Average Rating: 6.06

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

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